someguy
04-14-2007, 06:02 PM
Note: Noriko's Dinner Table is planned to have a very limited run in theatres sometime this year before getting released on DVD
Minor spoilers
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/1737/319hn8.jpg
Noriko's Dinner Table (2006)
Directed by Sono Sion
For anyone who knows about Asian films in the past few years, you should definitely know what Suicide Club is. The opening scene of 54 schoolgirls hurling themselves in front of a train got people's attention, and it also came out to be a pretty great satire too overall. Sono Sion decided to continue with the storyline slightly and created this half and half prequel/sequel to the film. Unfortunately for some confused viewers of SC, if you're expecting a pure explanation of everything in the predecessor prepare to get a bit of a disappointment.
Not to say that you aren't going to have some clarity though, things are explained but it turns out that things were seen on a smaller scale originally. The roots on why the suicide club originated run pretty deep. Before focusing on that though, the movie introduces Noriko around 6 months before the train incident.
Noriko is living in a small town she hates, her only refuge being a message board on www.haikyo.com where she befriends the site moderator Ueno54. Her father dislikes how Noriko does not want to do much and go to a university in Tokyo (he believes women only go there to get pregnant). This leads her to run away from her home and meet up with Ueno54 in Tokyo. It turns out that her online friend is a girl named Kumiko who brings Noriko (who has now changed her name to Mitsuko, not to be confused with the girl in Suicide Club) into her own 'circle' of friends.
The circle is a group of people that are 'family rentals', meaning they go out to lonely people and act as their loved ones/relatives. Noriko likes the idea and soon becomes a full fledged member. Eventually, Noriko's sister Yuka takes the identity of Yoko and runs away from home to join also. One year later, their father eventually finds out their whereabouts and goes to bring them back.
Overall, I would say that maybe fifteen or twenty percent of the movie's 158 (!) minute running time is actually focused on the events in Suicide Club. All the time is dedicated to Noriko and Kumiko's relationship, along with their father's search in the second half of the movie. The film is split into five chapters, four dedicated to each of the main characters and the fifth for the conclusion, but it really serves no purpose. Other characters are focused on more than the actual person the chapter is dedicated too, and removing them would really add nothing.
It's not a huge deterrent though, the story itself doesn't let up throughout the movie and other than the draggy final 10 minutes I had no problem with the long running time. The family rental scenes are incredibly awkward, but rather than make it serious the parts are done like a dark comedy. It works well, I was laughing at a few points in how maddening the situation came off.
As the movie goes along, the subjects begin to change along with the characters. Things get more and more unreal/dream like as Noriko accepts her new life, and once the clash with reality happens at the end it goes over the top in a very bloody way. There's a few social issues thrown about too in the one of many monologues this movie has. There's points brought up around the conflicts teenagers face with their parents over their identity, the roles people play or are forced to play, people's yearning for happiness and once again the whole connection view on suicides. A bit of the lessons thrown about get lost in the bizarre explanation, but seeing a horror 'sequel' bring up these kinds of things is something you really don't see everyday.
Unfortunately, despite how much is brought up or discussed, Noriko's Dinner Table just feels hollow. Yuka's character drops out for around 90 minutes before popping up, the constant jumps back and forth in time periods along with fantasy and real life gets nagging, and the ending will probably leave people more frustrated than they did watching Suicide Club. The DV film also is a bit of a detractor, especially during scenes in the dark. It comes off very bland and looks like the shoot was a rush. There's a bit of overacting too, and it walks a thin line between unintentional comedy at points.
If you're a fan of character studies, I'd recommend checking this out. I'd also tell fans of Suicide Club to see this if they want answers, but it's going to require a bit of patience. Things aren't spelled out, but if you pay attention well enough pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. Still, this is something that seems like it wants people to hate it with the running time and constant narration/inner monologues so be a bit wary. A good watch, although everyone should go out and get Strange Circus instead which I find better than this and SC combined.
7/10
Minor spoilers
http://img385.imageshack.us/img385/1737/319hn8.jpg
Noriko's Dinner Table (2006)
Directed by Sono Sion
For anyone who knows about Asian films in the past few years, you should definitely know what Suicide Club is. The opening scene of 54 schoolgirls hurling themselves in front of a train got people's attention, and it also came out to be a pretty great satire too overall. Sono Sion decided to continue with the storyline slightly and created this half and half prequel/sequel to the film. Unfortunately for some confused viewers of SC, if you're expecting a pure explanation of everything in the predecessor prepare to get a bit of a disappointment.
Not to say that you aren't going to have some clarity though, things are explained but it turns out that things were seen on a smaller scale originally. The roots on why the suicide club originated run pretty deep. Before focusing on that though, the movie introduces Noriko around 6 months before the train incident.
Noriko is living in a small town she hates, her only refuge being a message board on www.haikyo.com where she befriends the site moderator Ueno54. Her father dislikes how Noriko does not want to do much and go to a university in Tokyo (he believes women only go there to get pregnant). This leads her to run away from her home and meet up with Ueno54 in Tokyo. It turns out that her online friend is a girl named Kumiko who brings Noriko (who has now changed her name to Mitsuko, not to be confused with the girl in Suicide Club) into her own 'circle' of friends.
The circle is a group of people that are 'family rentals', meaning they go out to lonely people and act as their loved ones/relatives. Noriko likes the idea and soon becomes a full fledged member. Eventually, Noriko's sister Yuka takes the identity of Yoko and runs away from home to join also. One year later, their father eventually finds out their whereabouts and goes to bring them back.
Overall, I would say that maybe fifteen or twenty percent of the movie's 158 (!) minute running time is actually focused on the events in Suicide Club. All the time is dedicated to Noriko and Kumiko's relationship, along with their father's search in the second half of the movie. The film is split into five chapters, four dedicated to each of the main characters and the fifth for the conclusion, but it really serves no purpose. Other characters are focused on more than the actual person the chapter is dedicated too, and removing them would really add nothing.
It's not a huge deterrent though, the story itself doesn't let up throughout the movie and other than the draggy final 10 minutes I had no problem with the long running time. The family rental scenes are incredibly awkward, but rather than make it serious the parts are done like a dark comedy. It works well, I was laughing at a few points in how maddening the situation came off.
As the movie goes along, the subjects begin to change along with the characters. Things get more and more unreal/dream like as Noriko accepts her new life, and once the clash with reality happens at the end it goes over the top in a very bloody way. There's a few social issues thrown about too in the one of many monologues this movie has. There's points brought up around the conflicts teenagers face with their parents over their identity, the roles people play or are forced to play, people's yearning for happiness and once again the whole connection view on suicides. A bit of the lessons thrown about get lost in the bizarre explanation, but seeing a horror 'sequel' bring up these kinds of things is something you really don't see everyday.
Unfortunately, despite how much is brought up or discussed, Noriko's Dinner Table just feels hollow. Yuka's character drops out for around 90 minutes before popping up, the constant jumps back and forth in time periods along with fantasy and real life gets nagging, and the ending will probably leave people more frustrated than they did watching Suicide Club. The DV film also is a bit of a detractor, especially during scenes in the dark. It comes off very bland and looks like the shoot was a rush. There's a bit of overacting too, and it walks a thin line between unintentional comedy at points.
If you're a fan of character studies, I'd recommend checking this out. I'd also tell fans of Suicide Club to see this if they want answers, but it's going to require a bit of patience. Things aren't spelled out, but if you pay attention well enough pieces of the puzzle will fall into place. Still, this is something that seems like it wants people to hate it with the running time and constant narration/inner monologues so be a bit wary. A good watch, although everyone should go out and get Strange Circus instead which I find better than this and SC combined.
7/10